


The Youngest in Red

by GlasyaLabolas



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Family, Angst, Drabble, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-07
Updated: 2017-06-07
Packaged: 2018-11-10 14:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11128938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlasyaLabolas/pseuds/GlasyaLabolas
Summary: Drabbles from a proto-Dad!Shizuo AU idea, largely from Ruby's POV as I was growing accustomed to his character and his characterization in this particular AU setting.





	1. Monster Bodied

**Author's Note:**

> These two drabbles are from around two years ago. I have and had several Dad!Shizuo AU ideas because I'm such a pathetic sucker, but these two are set in the same universe where Delic, Tsuki, and Ruby existed as triplets suddenly thrusted into Shizuo's care. I'm posting them mostly out of interest of seeing my own growth and why not? Fan-fiction isn't as fun when it's not shared with other fans.

Ruby had always looked up to the heroes in the Sentai genre. The bright colors, the boastful stances, the teamwork, the skilled fighting, the bravery in the face of scary monsters and situations. He didn’t want to be anything so _flashy_ , but he wanted to be what they meant to him; confidence in your strengths.

 

And then, he overheard his Mother.

 

Ruby’s fondest and strongest memory of his Mother is a simple one. She had taught him how to fold a crane. He didn’t understand what he was doing wrong as he tried time and time again. She had met his frustrated eyes after he had ruined countless pieces of paper in trying to accomplish the art project and then walked him through each step until he could do it himself. He cherished the look of approval he was given in that instance.

 

_Monster_ , she had called her little boy in the hospital bed yet again.

 

More bills piled up as more broken bones and broken objects accumulated. The red numbers would weigh her down more and more as less and less of the things Ruby utterly destroyed would weigh in his hands. As the stack of mail and incessant phone calls grew, the gazes he got from his Mother vanished.

 

He doesn’t understand what he’s doing wrong as he tries time and time again. She no longer looks him in the eye, if at him at all.

 

_Monster_ , thinks the little boy in the bandages, gauze, and casts due to his own misunderstanding of his body. His Mother is never wrong, he is sure. She is, after all, his Mother.

 

Ruby now pays more attention to the baddies in his Sentai shows. He notices, belatedly, that the heroes don’t exactly reason or teach their foes why what they’re doing is bad or evil. He still likes the heroes, of course, but he cannot idolize something he can never realistically be. He is no ordinary human with special prowess or training.

 

Being tough and strong comes as naturally as breathing. Ruby knows stories where monsters aren’t so, where the moral is that they are just _different_ despite their scary appearance that would lead one to believe otherwise. However, these are his strengths, and he has no need for confidence when they are his state of being.

 

The little Monster wonders if his siblings are also as such and comes to the conclusion in a split second that it doesn’t matter. As long as they are together, they will always have one another to accept each other. Be they monster or human.

 

One day Ruby accidentally knocks over the block city he had built. He apologizes automatically, as if his figurines were actually hurt in the topple. The Monster stares at a red Sentai figurine that seems to be pleading for help from the various blocks crushing him for far too long before rebuilding his city and setting them all upright again. His fingers twitch and, after a moment of hesitation, he gives the set up a _real_ knocking. The toys scatter exponentially and harshly clack against the wooden floor as they land around the room. Ruby thinks he likes the destruction. His Mother doesn’t tug him aside to lecture him about treating his toys nicely so that they don’t break.

 

Ruby no longer plays with the other kids on the playground. He’s rowdy and rough and they get hurt so easily. They’ve become afraid of him and his behavior quickly, and he thinks he likes their looks of utter fear when it means they no longer tease and torture his middle sibling who never puts up a fight against their mean treatment. And when they try anyway? Well, they have the broken bones coming to them then.

 

The Monster destroys without regard; things, people, himself.

 

He still cries for his Mother the day she drops his siblings off to visit him in the hospital and never returns. He can’t remember the last time she really looked at him and he forgets the color of her eyes.

 

Brown like mud after the rain. Ruby loves the smooshy and sticky feeling under his shoes when he stomps in it. The smell of _fresh_ and _wet_ permeating everything and boosting the already earthy scents. Brown like those caramel hard candies Sensei gave the whole class before the ride home from a field trip. He’s always wanted to get more of those some day. Brown like a spiky seashell he found on a beach trip from long, long ago. He kept it until he accidentally broke it to remember the bright sun touching his skin all over and the warm sand between his toes, and how it all made him feel cozy, like being wrapped in a blanket straight from the dryer. Brown like his favorite chocolate milk.

 

Ruby knows the exact shade of brown of his Father’s eyes. He’s always looking, no matter what Ruby talks about or does. Smiles at him. Even gives him head pats and ruffles his hair. He’s so, _so_ excited with the attention, he doesn’t know what to do, and so Ruby cracks and flushes til his face lives up to his name. Or worse, _babbles_. All he wants is this acceptance continued. To never end.

 

The little Monster puts all of his effort into constraining himself. If he messes up, it’s certainly all gone again. If he messes up, his Dad’ll leave too. He gets a surge of panic every time he has to touch something so _breakable_. His siblings have taken charge of opening things like jars and milk bottles for him and he doesn’t have to touch the knobs in the bathroom when they wash together. But Ruby feels awful when his glares don’t scare away the kids that tease his brother at their new school. He can’t just hit them anymore, there’s nothing he can do but tell a teacher and he knows that’ll just make the bullying worse. When he realizes his eldest brother has picked up his slack in his own unique way, it doesn’t make Ruby feel better.

 

His Uncle is very nice and very quiet and reminds him of his older brother. He doesn’t really visit due to his job but he’s already seemed to figure out all of his nephews’ interests. Ruby gets building sets of various outcomes. He’s taken to keeping his new toys in their boxes and trembles when his Dad asks him if he doesn’t like them. Ruby _hates_ lying and only manages a few syllables instead. He’s floundering and his Dad doesn’t seem to know what to make of his nervousness. His brother fibs so _easily_ , leading their parent where he wants him like a thirsty horse to water. Ruby’s so embarrassed that his ears start to ring and he almost doesn’t hear his Dad suggest they build one set together.

 

It takes the two of them an hour or two to put the robot together. It’s one he recognizes from one of his favorite shows, now very cubic from the fashion of the building set brand. There’s gentle fingers carding through his hair when his Dad says, “See? It’s not that difficult, kiddo.” Ruby swoons at the affection and nods so hard he’d pull a muscle if he were anything else. The robot gets a special spot on the nightstand he shares with his brother. He spends the rest of the day putting more of the sets together alone. Each accomplishment is shown to and met with praise by his Dad. Ruby doesn’t realize he hasn’t broken anything that entire day.

 

Ruby likes Miss Celty a whole lot. She plays games with the three of them, jabs Kishitani-sensei when he’s being gross, and makes funny motions when he talks about the alien baddies in his Sentai shows. During a visit he gets into a friendly scuffle with his eldest brother. He’s never hurt either of his siblings before and has no plans to, but Miss Celty and his Dad don’t seem to get that the roughhousing is light and separate them anyway once they start wrestling. He’s being grabbed oddly and doesn’t really register where his elbow is until it connects and the helmet thunks to the ground. Ruby sucks in a sharp breath as he watches the yellow helmet spin on the floor with horror. He thinks he’s _killed_ her.

 

It’s twenty minutes after the event that the duo gets him to fully calm down. An hour for his eyes to unswell from crying.

 

None of them are the least bit scared at the revelation. Ruby thinks it’s pretty awesome to know such a cool monster. The rest of their visit is spent with the dullahan making various shapes and objects with her shadows to amuse them. He wonders if Miss Celty might possibly know and introduce him to a monster like himself.

 

_Izaya Orihara is a shitty, no good, lying bastard flea and if he ever tries to get near any of you, kick, scream, fight, and do whatever you have to to get away and then tell me so I can send his ass back home_, his Dad had said. Ruby remembers it clearly, as well as the funny feeling he couldn’t identify in his stomach and the giraffe animal cracker whose neck was broken in two in-between his parent’s fingers.

 

Ruby doesn’t register anything either of them say after the furry insect said, “C’mon, Shizu-chan, let’s show those little cubs of yours what a monster you are.” He’s not stupid. He knows it’s an insult and even sees the quick flinch and tensing from his Father. It pisses him off to hear the label he’s stitched into his skin said like _that_. It pisses him off to hear it directed at someone he cares so much for that doesn’t deserve it. There’s a flick-blade being lazily waved in his and his brothers’ direction and that also pisses him off.

 

They’re saying something he’s not hearing. The target’s too absorbed in a stare down and verbal battle to notice one of the trio walk away. But Ruby will remind Izaya that he’s there. He’s not got the best aim, but it hits well enough anyway.

 

While the trashcan clips Izaya’s arm and sends his ass sprawling to the pavement, Ruby yells. “Don’t call my Dad a monster, you _jerk_! If you want a monster, I’m right here!”

 

A nearby sign post is snapped easily and his instinct is to charge in while the informant is still down and bash his skull in with… some complicated driving symbol he’s too young to know the significance of. But then the pole’s catching _something_ and his feet are no longer meeting concrete. He follows from where his hands clutch the metal up to another grip.

 

“Oh, Ruby,” he hears the soft rumble of Dad’s voice before he catches his face.

 

The little Monster has been looking into those brown eyes currently overflowing with concern and sadness for validation every day and-- _I screwed up._

 

Ruby’s grip slackens and his feet meet the pavement. His vision’s blurring, his face is scrunching up, his throat is clenching so tightly he might squish his voice box if it weren’t for his keening. Hot tears prick at his eyes before rolling down his red cheeks. He’s bawling like he’s back at the hospital where no one is coming to pick him up.

 

“It’s gonna be okay,” his Father coos, having dropped down to a squat to meet his eye level,”Where does it hurt?” He doesn’t know Ruby’s done these kind of things before, but he’ll certainly know _now_.

 

“Now-- _Now_ you’re gon-gonna _leave!_ ” More tears fall as quickly as he rubs them away and he’s hiccuping from gulping down air like a beached fish.

 

“ _What? Why_ would you think _that?_ ”

 

“M- _Mom_ \-- M- _Me--_ ” Ruby’s already shaking like the last leaf of Fall. From the fear of abandonment or from the exertion of his own crying, he’s not sure. “M- _Monster_ \--”

 

“ _Don’t_ call yourself that.”

 

Neither of them make much sense to each other.

 

“B- _But!_ ” He’s sniffling, needs to blow his nose _really_ badly and the snot is starting to slide down to his lips.

 

“ _No buts_ ,” is the terse response.

 

_Brown, brown, brown_ , Ruby thinks, still petrified. Like maple syrup on french toast. His Dad made french toast a lot. If he forgets, he’ll be sad.

 

“Listen,” his Dad starts, there’s enough of an authoritative tone that Ruby’s back straightens. But then there’s a hand that’s not sure what to do so it smooths his hair, his heart aches with the gesture. “There ain’t a damn thing that’s gonna make me leave. Especially if you want or need me around.”

 

He’s not breathing properly, but manages a choked “ _Promise?_ ”

 

“’Course.”

 

“How _disgustingly_ touching,” Izaya interjects. Perhaps annoyed from being bruised _and_ ignored. His mouth opens to say something else when he has to jump to avoid the previously snapped post thrown at him like a javelin. It stabs into the pavement like a knife in butter, the concrete fissuring.

 

“ _Shut the hell up and get lost!_ ” Shizuo snarls. Once his kid’s no longer a sobbing mess, he’ll wring the flea’s neck.

 

Ruby’s in awe, still rubbing the tears away. He hasn’t looked away from that skinny arm since it shot out to grab what was previously his weapon. It shouldn’t be able to lift the heavy steel like cardboard, but those arms really are the same arms he’s just becoming accustomed to being embraced with.

 

His Father is like him.

 

_He’s like his Father._

 

Ruby has never considered that his Father might be a monster like him. No human has looked at him like something precious after they see the things he does and can do, and the grotesque destruction left in his wake. And yet, those brown eyes haven’t changed or ceased looking at him. He’s still trying to soothe Ruby’s worries.

 

His Father is a monster. He tucks Ruby in at night, even reads him stories when he’s asked for them, and he fixes the pillows and sheets Ruby kicks around when he checks on his children during the night. He gives him chocolate milk and cookies when Ruby’s been particularly good or looks upset. He always inquires what’s wrong and asks about his day. He wants all three of them to feel loved and wanted. His Father is a monster that loves his family very dearly.

 

Ruby is also a monster that loves his family very dearly. He’ll never be as good or as kind or even as gentle as his Dad is, he’s sure of this, but he’ll try anyway. He knows he could be just like his Dad if he didn’t enjoy being a monster.


	2. Rose Tinted Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby tries to understand his eldest brother through a particularly unpleasant time period in his life.

Extrospection of another person that doesn't involve his fists isn't exactly Ruby's forte. From where he stands Delic writes most things off with his humor or sprinkles his words to downplay whatever is happening, be it internally or externally. If he wasn't his brother, Ruby would have been long fed up with one thing being said and another being meant and socked him in the jaw. It's almost funny that the straightest answers he gets from the queerest person he knows is from when Delic's thinking with his dick.

 

Reading between the lines sometimes feels like someone has thrust a two thousand piece puzzle in front of him to solve when he's only ever managed (but struggled with) one hundred piece ones. But no matter at the end of the day, or more accurately the beginning of sunrise, he'd try for his brothers, because his brothers are all he's ever had for stability until his father came into the picture and _family_ started being a more fitting word again. Despite their differences, his eldest brother would do the same for him, no question.

 

Being the only other triplet that partakes in nasty hobbies and can tolerate the company of ill repute, Ruby's not especially phased by the things he occasionally sees when he's pulled into or accidentally treads on Delic's scene. He's disgusted sometimes, sure. Actually, scratch that, he's disgusted _a lot_. Ruby's walked in on his sibling that shares his image (his face, his body) having sex, performing and receiving sexual favors enough times to take up several gigabytes if his eyes were cameras. His scowl is always instantaneous and usually followed by an exclamation of how _gross_ it all is. Looking at the aftermath of beating someone up to a bloody pulp or snapping their arm, the torn sinew and shards of bone piercing out of the skin, has never triggered his gag reflex like some of the things he's witnessed by not knocking or using a public bathroom. Worse that Delic find it _absolutely hilarious_.

 

So what his brother likes sex though. It's probably not a good idea to sleep around as much as Delic does, but it's not exactly right of Ruby to enjoy snapping wrists or shattering noses either. He can't understand what the other finds so enjoyable about it all, but everyone's consenting, just like all the jackasses that ask or look at him for a fight, so what does he give a damn? He can't judge.

 

Ruby's seen his brother vomit in an alley once, had to hear the retching and gagging, and that once was really one too many for his lifetime. He couldn't think of a single thing to say or ask while rubbing his brother's back in a soothing gesture. When Delic's done and no longer bowing for his guts, that expression crosses his face for a beat. The blank, weighted, slightly zoned off in his own little world expression Ruby's only seen a rare few times. He writes it off as the booze making his brother's brain sluggish and preoccupied. There's nothing happening right now that would make him think so deeply. Right?

 

Once it disappears, Delic starts to make his way out of the alley. Ruby slightly snaps out of whatever's wrong with him and simply says “Let's go home.” He gets a glance from his elder brother and a monosyllabic dismissal. He's stock, frozen in place watching his sibling walk right back into the building with the bouncer that doesn't even so much as give a damn about checking IDs, amused eyes and smile back on his face as if he wasn't just out puking. Ruby can't understand the decision, can't so much as fathom what Delic's thinking, and he's _really_ trying here. If he doesn't feel like shit now, he'll feel like it tomorrow. _Maybe he always feels like shit_ , Ruby considers suddenly, and he feels like every bit the helpless teenager he is.

 

When he goes home alone, their father asks if he knows if Delic will be bothering coming home tonight. Ruby can't look up and let the turmoil surely stirring in his eyes be seen so clearly and he can't stand to see the worry in his father's eyes when he has to tell him no, so he shrugs and continues to his room. He should rat his brother out, tell their father exactly where to find him and drag him back home, but he doesn't want to risk losing any of Delic's trust. Ruby knows from past experiences that Delic's trust in him would never falter if he did blab, that the ending result of their father butting in would only be positive. For a brief moment he doesn't even understand himself. Why doesn't he do the right thing? Is this possibly what Delic thinks about when he drifts off into his own little world?

 

The memory is dizzying, especially the days after it initially happened. Ruby's no longer sure how much of a front Delic puts up. He can't tell which grin and laugh is hollow and forced or not anymore. His brother loved movies when they were children, when he was as quiet as a forest before a natural disaster. He'd get involved in plays and musicals at school and decline when he felt the roles they assigned him didn't have enough lines. Ruby bitterly thinks about how good of an actor Delic is and why he doesn't just follow in their uncle's footsteps instead of _all that_. Spontaneously on a walk home from school, he asks Tsuki if he also thinks Delic is full of shit and receives a quiet yes. He doesn't consider how little Tsuki balked until much later.

 

It never occurred to Ruby until that night has stewed enough in his brain to begin boiling that he's never had to sneak Delic inside while their father slept. He has no idea where his older brother crashes, can barely remember one or two names he's been thrown once or thrice. It's when that bastard's name comes up that makes him scowl and glare with trepidation though. What makes Ruby punch the poor assholes that show up for a fight twice as hard after school one day is that he had to compared them, had to think about how they're similar. He _hates_ it.

 

He wakes up angry one somber morning. Finally can't stand it on the walk to school after tossing Delic his schoolbag and yells at him. Demands to know why he doesn't bother coming home until midnight on school nights and doesn't bother coming home at all on weekends, demands to know why he and Tsuki aren't privy to his thoughts anymore, demands why in general. Ruby hears reflections, dismissals, selfish reasonings, words that are about as cemented as leaves in the wind. His teeth clack together and grind. Doesn't he care about _his family_ , doesn't he _care_ at all? Ruby's huffing, he's not good with words and never has been. He takes after their father and says what he means and means what he says, verbally blunt like a sledgehammer. “Don't you _know_ how upset we all are over you or do you just _not_ give a damn,” he spits out as his arm moves reflexively and his fist connects with and crumbles a wall. Delic considers him, face neutral, almost entirely blank, and walks away like a parent from a tantruming child. Ruby feels Tsuki place a hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm him down. It doesn't work and he goes about demolishing the surrounding area while rapid firing swears like a Gatling gun shoots bullets. After a couple minutes of crumpling various metal objects into balls like wads of paper, he crumbles to the cracked concrete. The hand is back on his shoulder instantly, and Ruby runs harsh fingers through his hair. “You really hurt him,“ he hears Tsuki murmur, and he growls out “Good.”

 

Some time passes and it's almost like the exchange never happened. Ruby gives in. He's given his piece and he's not strong enough to pull Delic back to reality if he wants to play pretend. Maybe his eldest brother has always been a big fucking coward and he's just now old enough or smart enough to realize it. The next time their father tells him to text his brother to find out where the hell he is instead of at home getting ready for school, he doesn't hesitate telling him the answer he gets and almost enjoys seeing their enraged parent leave to retrieve him.


End file.
